BACKGROUND Elevated B-type natriuretic peptide levels in patients with acute myocardial infarction are useful in the prediction of poor outcome. It is still not established how often and when assessment of neurohormonal activation provides the best prognostic information. AIM To evaluate whether repeated measurements of B-type natriuretic peptide provide additional clinical information in pat...

B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) has been known to be secreted from cardiac myocytes and activate its receptor, natriuretic peptide receptor-A (NPR-A), to reduce ventricular fibrosis. However, the function of BNP/NPR-A pathway in the somatic sensory system has been unknown. In the present study, we report a novel function of BNP in pain modulation. Using microarray and immunoblot analyses, we f...

Several mouse models have already proved valuable for investigating hypertrophic responses to cardiac stress. Here, we characterize one caused by a well defined single copy transgene, RenTgMK, that genetically clamps plasma renin and thence angiotensin II at high levels. All of the transgenic males develop concentric cardiac hypertrophy with fibrosis but without dilatation. Over half die sudden...

BACKGROUND Experimental studies suggest that the natriuretic peptides influence lipid and fatty acid metabolism. Although it has been shown that obese individuals have reduced natriuretic peptide levels, conflicting data exist on the relation of natriuretic peptide levels to other metabolic risk factors. METHODS AND RESULTS We examined the association of plasma levels of B-type natriuretic pe...

Brain natriuretic peptide (BNP) is a peptide hormone secreted by cardiomyocytes in response to atrial or ventricular wall stretch and/or pressure overload. It promotes a number of systemic effects, including vasodilatation, increase in urinary output and sodium excretion, as well as inhibition of the sympathetic nervous system and the renin–angiotensin–aldosterone system. Plasma BNP levels have...

Postoperative-fluid retention is a severe complication frequently reported in patients undergoing major surgical procedures. The complex network of molecules involved in such a severe surgery-induced condition remains poorly understood. Inflammation has been proposed among the various causes of fluid retention. Since TNF-α is one of the main proinflammatory cytokine initially released after maj...

1. Eindhoven JA, van den Bosch AE, Jansen PR, Boersma E, RoosHesselink JW. The usefulness of brain natriuretic peptide in complex congenital heart disease: a systematic review. J Am Coll Cardiol 2012;60: 2140–9. 2. Johns MC, Stephenson C. Amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide testing in neonatal and pediatric patients. Am J Cardiol 2008;101:76–81. 3. Clerico A, Emdin M. Diagnostic accur...

BACKGROUND Four cardiac hormones i.e. atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP), vessel dilator, long acting natriuretic peptide (LANP) and kaliuretic peptide have anticancer effects in vitro. MATERIALS AND METHODS These four cardiac hormones were infused subcutaneously for 28 days with weekly fresh hormones at 3 nM min(-1) kg(-1) body weight in athymic mice bearing human breast adenocarcinomas. RES...